


Becoming stronger

by Genoscissors



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Talentswap (Dangan Ronpa), F/M, based on Galactic Melancholy (go read it)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 06:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16738456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genoscissors/pseuds/Genoscissors
Summary: Chihiro presents himself as a girl, but wants to change that. Mahiru the ultimate compass tries to help him, but he seems to be getting into a lot of fights lately...





	Becoming stronger

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FranzSan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FranzSan/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Dangan Ronpa: Galactic Melancholy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13240815) by [FranzSan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FranzSan/pseuds/FranzSan). 



“Chihiro… what happened this time?” Mahiru looked the boy up and down. She didn’t know if this was a new fashion trend, but she was pretty sure those clothes weren’t meant to be covered in what looked like blood. “Did you get into a fight again?” 

“No! I was um… helping Nagito earlier, and I spilt some of the, um what’s the word? The blood for… uh…” 

“Transfusions?” 

“Yeah! That’s it. Transfusions, haha…” Mahiru sighed, not believing it in the slightest. She was trying to make him more confident, but getting into fights he couldn’t win wasn’t the way to do it. She was about to question him further when the ultimate nurse himself spoke up. Weird, she hadn’t noticed him approaching...

“No, you weren’t helping me, I got help from Mikan today. I don’t know why-” Nagito stopped when he saw Mahiru’s face. Ah, that was why… “I’m so sorry Chihiro.” 

“It’s fine…” The nurse slowly backed away, before turning and sprinting off, leaving the two of them alone. 

“Chihiro. Did you get into a fight again?” Mahiru put a hand on his shoulder. He looked away, and nodded. 

“I mean… it’s not… I didn’t…” 

“Chihiro. You can’t do this, you don’t know any self-defence. You’re the ultimate pianist, what would happen if their violence escalated and say, they broke your arms? Then you wouldn’t be able to play!” Chihiro tried to speak, but no words came out. “Your music makes so many people happy, you don’t need to pick fights to prove your worth.” Chihiro smiled a little at this. 

“Thank you…” He smoothed down his blue tracksuit. “I should go change…” 

 

“You should go to the infirmary first. Do you want me to walk you there?” 

“No, I’ll be fine.” He walked away. Mahiru noted that despite the blood, he was walking normally… or maybe that was just her imagination…

About five minutes later, she was doing her rounds of the hallways, when she saw Korekiyo walking around with a bloody nose. “Hey! Are you alright?” 

“There is no need to worry. I was simply sparring with a classmate. They were… slightly tougher than I’d expected.” 

“Well, make sure you clean yourself up. We can’t have you staining the carpets.” 

“Of course. Thank you for your concern.” As he walked away, Mahiru couldn’t help wondering who he’d been sparring with. She assumed it was Akane, Angie, or possibly Nekomaru. Whoever it was could certainly pack a punch. Maybe she should oversee their next session. 

 

“Good morning Chihiro.” Mahiru sat with him in class the next day, wanting to get to the bottom of the issue. “May I ask you a few questions.” 

“Of course… is something wrong?” 

“I need to ask some questions about your fight yesterday.” She took out a clipboard. Depending on whether it was someone from Hope’s Peak or not, this would be serious. “First, who were you fighting?” 

“I… I don’t know them…” Mahiru wrote this down, but doubted the legitimacy of his claim. He was lying, she could tell. Goodness, did he really not want to get someone in trouble? 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes.” Still lying… well, she could try again later.

“Why did you get into the fight? Was someone insulting you?” 

“No.”

“Did the person say anything you took offence to?” What she was really trying to ask was - was someone insulting me? But that was an egotistical question to ask, and this phrasing was better. Probably.

“No.” 

“Who started the fight?” 

“Well uh… Technically… I uh… can’t really say?” 

“Is that so? Who threw the first punch then? Is that a better question?” 

“Well, I guess they did, but-” 

“So they started it.” She wrote this down as well. “Did you fight back?” 

“I did.” 

“Chihiro… you can’t do that. If you want to get stronger, join a beginner’s martial arts class.” She took out her phone as she heard a laugh. She turned to see Korekiyo, who stopped and stared back at her.

“Just a joke Himiko told.” 

“I have a friend who runs a dojo downtown. They take people of all abilities, even you. So, are you interested?” 

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” 

“That’s what you said last time. Do you promise not to get into any more fights? At least for the next month?” 

“Alright. No more fights with strangers.” He smiled at her. That wasn’t what she’d asked, but she let it go for now… but she’d have to keep a close eye on him today.

 

During their lunch break, Chihiro went off to the reserve course building - apparently his cousin needed something. Mahiru decided to take this time to ask other people what might have been happening. 

“Oh Chihiro?” Leon looked up from his phone to speak to her. “He’s a good friend, is something wrong?”

“He?”

“Oh crap did you not know? Shit. I’m so sorry, I’m sure he wanted to tell you specially…”

“No, I knew. I’m just surprised you did.”

“Oh he told a whole bunch of us a while back. His manager’s a creep, don’t ya think?”

“He didn’t tell me he’d told anyone.”

“I think so far it’s only Korekiyo, Nekomaru, Himiko and I… anyway, what did you want to know?”

“Do you know who he’s been getting in fights with recently?”

“Can’t say.”

“Is that you don’t know, or you know but won’t tell me?”

“Uh… yes?” Leon received a phone call and quickly excused himself. Mahiru tried asking some other people about Chihiro, but got no new information. 

 

“See you tomorrow Mahiru!” Chihiro waved goodbye after class was over. She watched him go, and decided to follow him for a while. He went up to the dojo on the top floor, and greeted Korekiyo there. 

“Are you sure you want to do this again? You shouldn’t overwork yourself.” 

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry! And I definitely want to be ready for tomorrow. What about you, is your nose fine?” 

“I’ve had a lot worse in the past, I can handle it.” The two of them entered, and Mahiru peered in. 

They both got in a fighting stance. Korekiyo started talking again. “So, how many are we going for today?” 

“I think… 15 should be fine.” And Korekiyo attacked Chihiro without warning. Mahiru was about to burst in and ask what the hell was going on, when Chihiro managed to fight back, landing a solid punch in his chest, and ran away before the taller boy had a chance to regain his balance. 

“Congratulations, that’s one.” Mahiru decided to keep watching for a while, not interfering.

This continued for some time, with Chihiro sometimes being able to fight Korekiyo off, and others where Korekiyo kindly said: “Oh, you died.” 

After quite a long time, Chihiro finally managed to get to 15 victories. At this moment, he collapsed to the ground. “Oh thank goodness…” 

“Tired?” Korekiyo gave him a bottle of water. “Neo aikido really gets your heart rate up, doesn’t it?” 

“Yeah… but thank you. I feel much better now.” 

“You’re welcome. Are you sure you’re ready for tomorrow?”

“Yes… I don’t know what Hope’s Peak will say, but I’ll get through it.” 

“Well, whatever happens, you know we’ll support you.” 

“Thank you. I hope Mahiru does as well.” Mahiru didn’t know what they were talking about, but she knew she’d always support Chihiro, no matter what he did. “She’s been helping me so much, but I want to prove that I can be strong, even without her help. I want to make her proud.” Mahiru decided to leave, not wanting to eavesdrop further. She had a lot to think about. He’d really come a long way since they’d first met.

 

“Hey guys!” Leon burst into the classroom the next morning. “There’s something Chihiro wants to tell you!” Everyone looked up as Chihiro entered the room… wearing a brown suit and a nice tie. Mahiru gasped, that was a real change from the pink dress.

“Uh… hello everyone! I need to tell you something. I’m a guy.” Chihiro stood in place for a few seconds. “Yeah.” 

There were a few questions, and a lot of confusion, but after a while everyone managed to just accept it. Chihiro went to sit next to Mahiru. “Hello… um, surprise?” 

Mahiru smiled at him and gave him a hug. “I’m so proud of you Chihiro.” 

“Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you. You’ve been so helpful, I guess you really are a great moral compass.” Chihiro stepped away. “I guess helping me was just like work for you.” 

“No, don’t say that. Yes, it’s my job to help others, but that’s not the only reason. I saw you, and I thought that you had amazing potential. I really enjoyed spending time with you, and I consider you to be my best friend.” 

“Best friends? Thank you… I like that. It really means a lot coming from someone I love as much as you.” 

Mahiru thought for a second about what that meant. Was that love love, or friendly love? But whatever he meant… “I feel the same way.” 

Chihiro smiled and blushed. “Really? So, does that mean you want to go out with me?” 

“Yes. Of course.”


End file.
